# Pete Mitchell (American football)

Peter Clark Mitchell (born October 9, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles, and was a two-time All-American. He played professionally for the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and Detroit Lions of the NFL.

## Early years

Mitchell was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. He is a graduate of Birmingham Brother Rice High School in Birmingham, Michigan, where he played for the Rice Warriors high school football team.

## College career

Mitchell accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Boston College, where he played for the Eagles from 1991 to 1994. He earned first-team All-American honors as a junior in 1993; as a senior in 1994, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, having been a first-team selection of the Associated Press, the Walter Camp Foundation, Football Writers Association of America, Scripps-Howard, and The Sporting News.
* 1991: 29 catches for 398 yards and 3 touchdowns
* 1992: 40 catches for 555 yards and 3 touchdowns
* 1993: 66 catches for 818 yards and 7 touchdowns
* 1994: 55 catches for 617 yards and 7 touchdowns

## Professional career

The Miami Dolphins selected Mitchell in the fourth round (122nd overall pick) of the 1995 NFL draft, but traded him during training camp to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for wide receiver Mike Williams. Mitchell played for the Jaguars from 1995 to 1998. In his first four seasons for the Jags, he became the team's regular starter at tight end. From 2000 to 2001, he played for the New York Giants, and had one of his best years statistically in 1999 as a part-time starter, when he caught 58 receptions for 520 yards. He played for the Detroit Lions in 2001, but saw action in only five games and started only once in the Lions' offense. He returned to the Jaguars in 2002, and started 11 of 16 regular season games. In a nine-season NFL career, Mitchell played in 114 regular season games, started 63 of them, and compiled 279 receptions for 2,885 yards and 15 touchdowns.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 1995 | JAX | 16 | 5 | 41 | 527 | 12.9 | 35 | 2 |
| 1996 | JAX | 16 | 7 | 52 | 575 | 11.1 | 30 | 1 |
| 1997 | JAX | 16 | 12 | 35 | 380 | 10.9 | 33 | 4 |
| 1998 | JAX | 16 | 16 | 38 | 363 | 9.6 | 38 | 2 |
| 1999 | NYG | 15 | 6 | 58 | 520 | 9.0 | 25 | 3 |
| 2000 | NYG | 14 | 5 | 25 | 245 | 9.8 | 22 | 1 |
| 2001 | DET | 5 | 1 | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 12 | 0 |
| 2002 | JAX | 16 | 11 | 25 | 246 | 9.8 | 45 | 2 |
| | | 114 | 63 | 279 | 2,885 | 10.3 | 45 | 15 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 1996 | JAX | 3 | 2 | 12 | 136 | 11.3 | 47 | 0 |
| 1997 | JAX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| 1998 | JAX | 2 | 2 | 3 | 35 | 11.7 | 22 | 0 |
| 2000 | NYG | 3 | 2 | 3 | 54 | 18.0 | 33 | 0 |
| | | 9 | 7 | 19 | 232 | 12.2 | 47 | 0 |